Learning from the Source: Perspectives on U.S. Expansion

At the turn of the 20th century Admiral George Dewey, Pacific naval commander, became a veritable American hero for his role in the Spanish-American war. While United States foreign policy was focused on global expansion, not everyone believed it was a good idea. The Philippines, certainly, were not keen on U.S. imperialism and continued to fight for control of the country until 1902 (Spain “awarded” the Philippines to the United States for $20 million under the 1898 Treaty of Paris). Use the political cartoon primary source set below (as well as the cartoon above) to consider how the political magazine Puck portrayed different U.S. perspectives of expansionism from 1899-1902 in relation to the Philippines. Use the accompanying resources to help inform and guide student analyses. You may choose to have students analyze the cartoons twice, first without reviewing the bibliographic record or any other texts and again after the review of these records and materials. Look to the Common Core State Standards alignments below to inform additional activity tasks.

Enduring Understanding National interest shapes foreign policy

Focus Question How did U.S. national interests impact Philippine liberty and democracy around the turn of the 20th century?

RH.11-12.1. Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole.

RH.11-12.2. Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.

RH.11-12.3. Evaluate various explanations for actions or events and determine which explanation best accords with textual evidence, acknowledging where the text leaves matters uncertain.

RH.11-12.6. Evaluate authors’ differing points of view on the same historical event or issue by assessing the authors’ claims, reasoning, and evidence.

RH.11-12.7. Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.

RH.11-12.8. Evaluate an author’s premises, claims, and evidence by corroborating or challenging them with other information.

RH.11-12.9. Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.

RH.11-12.10. By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend history/social studies texts in the grades 11–CCR text complexity band independently and proficiently.